Getting children to go to bed can be a struggle. It can be even harder if their nursery is not set up properly to help them fall asleep. Here are some tips and tricks to help make your nursery a room that is more restful than it is now, to help both your toddler and yourself get more sleep. Remember, the better they nap, the better you nap.

Add Light Blocking Curtains

Many of the fabrics that make up our nursery are light and floaty, including those used to make baby curtains. Often, these curtains are beautiful, but they don’t do anything to keep light out of a room. The human body is designed to sleep when it is dark and be awake when it is light, so the light could be causing problems for their sleep schedule. In order to help your child nap when the sun is up, we recommend adding light-blocking curtains to their room.

If you love the curtains you already have, there are detachable linings that are easy to add to the back of your curtains that will block light and make the space more restful for your toddler.

Comfortable Bedding

At the end of the day, you wouldn’t want to sleep in an uncomfortable bed, and neither does your child. If they are struggling to sleep in their own bed, it might be because they are uncomfortable with their mattress or their blanket.

Figure out what textures they like to sleep under and check out the Children’s Room offerings to find the perfect blanket for them and their nursery design theme!

Toys: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

If you store your children’s toys in their rooms, they are going to be more tempted to play with them while they are supposed to be sleeping. To avoid this issue, put your child’s toys somewhere where they cannot see them from their bed or crib.

If you don’t have to a lot of storage space that’s out of sight, try putting them in bins or behind a screen where your child can’t see them.

No Electronics!

Keep all electronics away from your child and their nursery for as long as possible. They should not be using your phone or tablet to play within three hours of their naptime or bedtime in order to help them sleep as much as possible.

Electronics like this emit blue spectrum light that tells their (and our) brains that they need to wake up and pay attention to what’s on the screen. This is terrible for their circadian rhythm because it keeps them awake for longer. In fact, it forces their brains to stop producing melatonin for a while, which makes them stay awake, no matter how tired they are.

With that in mind, keep electronics out of their bedrooms so that they are tempted to use them when they are supposed to be sleeping or when they are struggling to sleep. The same policy would do you some good as well.